This is a really nicely laid out book that aims to present natural history to children in a way that they can relate to. By crafting stories around his main characters - otters, dogs, fish, badgers, rabbits and so on, that are reflected in some fine illustrations by Warwick Reynolds, Batten manages to bring to life the animal world that he is so clearly fond of. There are 15 plates [including frontispiece] and head and tail illustrations for each story [17 stories in all]. 24.5x19 cm. 159 pp. Grey cloth covered boards with black lettering / illustration to upper board / backstrip and gilt lettering to backstrip. Grey endpapers. Corners and top/tail backstrip bumped. Previous owners gift plate to front pastedown [dated 1928]. Occasional spotting inside, nothing major. from Otto